Thunder Force III (Genesis): PSA Pop Report & Prices
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PSA has graded 5 Thunder Force III Sega Genesis copies on record — 1 CIB, 4 sealed. PSA tracks 3 distinct production variants separately because they’re priced differently by collectors. Sealed copies trade in the $323 range. This page is the per-game pop + price + grading reference for Thunder Force III on Sega Genesis — updated weekly from PSA’s official population data and PriceCharting’s market catalog.
Quick Facts
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Title: Thunder Force III
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Console: Sega Genesis
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Variants tracked by PSA: 3
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Total PSA-graded copies: 5 (Loose: 0 · CIB: 1 · Sealed: 4)
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PriceCharting market data: available
Variant Comparison
PSA recognizes 3 distinct production variants of Thunder Force III, each tracked on its own population row because collectors value them differently.
| Variant | Loose Pop | CIB Pop | Sealed Pop | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Made in Japan, UPC Corrected | — | — | 1 | 1 |
| Made in Japan, UPC Correction Sticker | — | — | 3 | 3 |
| Made in Japan, UPC Misprint | — | 1 | — | 1 |
PSA Pop by Condition
PSA tracks Thunder Force III populations independently for loose carts, complete-in-box (CIB), and factory-sealed copies — collectors price each condition separately because rarity and demand diverge sharply. Tables below show the grade-tier breakdown per condition, aggregated across 3 variants PSA recognizes for this title.
Loose Cartridge
PSA hasn’t graded any loose copies of Thunder Force III for Sega Genesis yet.
Complete in Box (CIB)
Total graded: 1
| Variant | Pop | Grade Breakdown |
|---|---|---|
| Made in Japan, UPC Misprint | 1 | 9.0: 1 |
PSA has not graded the following variants in this condition: Made in Japan, UPC Corrected · Made in Japan, UPC Correction Sticker.
Factory Sealed
Total graded: 4
Sealed summary by variant:
| Variant | Total Pop | Top Numeric Grade | Best Seal Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Made in Japan, UPC Corrected | 1 | 9.6 | A+ |
| Made in Japan, UPC Correction Sticker | 3 | 9.8 | A+ |
Factory Sealed Grade × Seal Matrix
Rows show PSA numeric grades. Columns show seal grades. Cell values are PSA population counts. Aggregated across all variants. Top observed grade: 9.8 (PSA scale extends to 10).
| Grade | A+ | B+ | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9.8 | 1 | — | 1 |
| 9.6 | 2 | — | 2 |
| 8.5 | — | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 3 | 1 | 4 |
Per-variant grade × seal matrices
Click any variant to expand its full grade × seal breakdown.
Made in Japan, UPC Corrected (1 sealed pop)
Top observed grade: 9.6 (PSA scale extends to 10).
| Grade | A+ | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 9.6 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 1 | 1 |
Made in Japan, UPC Correction Sticker (3 sealed pop)
Top observed grade: 9.8 (PSA scale extends to 10).
| Grade | A+ | B+ | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9.8 | 1 | — | 1 |
| 9.6 | 1 | — | 1 |
| 8.5 | — | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 2 | 1 | 3 |
PSA has not graded the following variant in this condition: Made in Japan, UPC Misprint.
Current Market Prices
All prices below come from PriceCharting’s public catalog as of this page’s last update. PriceCharting calculates its values from completed sales on eBay and its own marketplace — independent of any data on this page. The Sealed column reflects PriceCharting’s “manual-only” / new tier — factory-sealed retail at average condition; specific graded-sealed prices vary sharply by numeric grade + seal letter (use the Sealed eBay browse link below for grade-specific comps).
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Loose cartridge: $48
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Complete in Box (CIB): $129
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Sealed: $323
All 3 PSA-tracked variants share the same PriceCharting prices because PriceCharting indexes at the title level, not the variant level. Variant-specific pricing surfaces on eBay sold-comp data — check the Sealed / CIB / Loose browse links below for variant-aware market signals.
Auction House Graded Sales
Heritage Auctions and Goldin sold results below are real auction transactions for Thunder Force III on Sega Genesis. They complement the PriceCharting loose / CIB / sealed benchmarks above; they are not estimates and they are not blended into PriceCharting’s ungraded market prices.
Summary rows are title-level auction sale signals, sorted by format, recency, and realized-price signal. PSA production variants can price differently, so the sale records keep each auction house’s own variant notes visible instead of pretending every auction lot maps cleanly to a PSA variant row.
High-grade games can trade years apart, so older auction records stay visible; treat the latest-sale date as part of the comp, not just the dollar amount.
| Format | Grade | Sale signal | Latest sale | Comps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Factory sealed (Ippy’s Sea Girt Collection, Sega Clamshell, Made in Japan) | CGC | Last sale $534 | Jun 18, 2026 | 1 |
| Factory sealed | CGC 9.8 A+ | Last sale $2,750 | Oct 10, 2024 | 1 |
| Factory sealed | WATA 9.6 A+ | Last sale $1,200 | Apr 27, 2023 | 1 |
Sale records:
| Date | Sold For | Grader / Grade | Format | Variant Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 18, 2026 | $534 | CGC | Factory sealed | Ippy’s Sea Girt Collection, Sega Clamshell, Made in Japan | Goldin lot 202605-1319-1913-ee8573f8-5d02-4573-88c6-299ce242af5b |
| Oct 10, 2024 | $2,750 | CGC 9.8 A+ | Factory sealed | — | Lot 44269-79089 |
| Apr 27, 2023 | $1,200 | WATA 9.6 A+ | Factory sealed | — | Lot 44192-80108 |
Listings
Each link below opens an eBay search filtered to that condition, scoped to Thunder Force III on Sega Genesis. “Sold” pulls completed/sold listings (use this for price research). “Listings” pulls current active listings (use this to find a copy to buy).
Why Thunder Force III Matters for Grading
PSA has graded only 5 copies of Thunder Force III for Sega Genesis across all conditions — a tiny graded population. The sealed condition dominates submissions (4 of 5, ~80%) — a strong signal that’s where most collector value sits for this title. Sealed copies trade at roughly 6× the loose price ($323 vs $48). Solid spread for grading speculation if you can source a clean sealed cart. Because PSA tracks 3 variants separately, production-code identification matters before submission. The pop-by-variant breakdown above tells you which variant is the rarer find.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Thunder Force III Sega Genesis worth grading?
Strong yes for clean copies. With only 5 graded copies on record, Thunder Force III is squarely in the rare-population tier for Sega Genesis — and PSA grading adds meaningful provenance on titles with this little supply. Grade-and-hold is the play; flipping mid-grade copies thins margins fast.
How rare is a graded sealed copy of Thunder Force III?
PSA tracks 4 graded sealed copies of Thunder Force III for Sega Genesis. The grade-tier breakdown above shows how those split across PSA’s numeric grades — top-grade copies (9.4+) are the scarcest and typically command the strongest premiums.
Should I buy a graded or raw copy of Thunder Force III?
Depends on your goal. Graded copies cost more upfront but come with PSA’s authenticity + condition guarantee — the right move for buy-and-hold collectors. Raw copies are cheaper but require condition assessment yourself, and the grading lottery means a $50 raw cart can come back as a $25 PSA 7 OR a $200 PSA 9.4. Use the per-condition pop and price data above to calculate expected value before you commit.
Why does PSA track multiple variants of Thunder Force III?
PSA recognizes 3 distinct production variants of Thunder Force III on Sega Genesis. Variants reflect real production differences — different factories (Made in Japan vs Made in Mexico), packaging die changes, ESRB-rating retrofits added partway through the console’s life, or Players Choice reissues from later runs. Collectors price them differently because rarity diverges, and PSA tracks each on its own population row so the data reflects the real market structure.
Sources
Pop counts pulled weekly from PSA Video Games population data. Prices from PriceCharting. PSA acquired WATA in July 2021 and completed the rebrand to PSA Video Games on October 20, 2025. PSA Video Games population data is the continuation of WATA’s population history. Heritage graded-sale comps come from Heritage Auctions sold archive lot pages linked in the sale-record table. Goldin graded-sale comps come from Goldin (goldin.co) sold lot pages linked in the sale-record table; Goldin prices are the lot’s final price as Goldin reports it. Rankings, medians and summaries are What The Slab analysis — How we get our numbers.
Related Resources
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Sega Genesis Game Library — every variant PSA tracks for this console, with pop + price per condition tier (loose, CIB, sealed).
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Retro Video Game Collecting — pillar with broader strategy, market dynamics, and grading economics.
More Sega Genesis pop reports & prices: